1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to interactive entertainment. More particularly, the present invention relates to multi-player interactive entertainment.
2. Background Art
Interactive entertainment such as video games often reward fast reflexes and quick thinking. For example, shooting games reward players that can quickly recognize and accurately aim at targets, racing games reward players that can quickly react to changing course conditions and rival vehicles, and puzzle games reward players that can analyze the situation and plan several steps ahead. Often, video games are rendered more enjoyable by playing them competitively or cooperatively in a multi-player online setting. In this manner, users can enjoy the thrills of competing in ranked matches and the camaraderie of struggling towards a common goal.
Video games often utilize fantastic fictional world settings based on popular media such as movies, books, comics and graphic novels. Often, these world settings may feature action elements that may readily translate into a viable video game concept. However, to provide greater dramatic effect, these action elements may tend to favor high-speed and over-the-top presentations. For example, various world settings might feature characters with superhuman or enhanced cybernetic reflexes that allow players to adapt to extreme conditions. These world constructs may make it difficult to faithfully convert such high-speed action elements into a video game accommodating the reaction times of an average video game player. Moreover, using a multi-player online setting creates technical issues that need to be addressed, such as network latency.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by creating a way to integrate high-speed action elements in a multi-player online interactive setting that can still accommodate to the reaction times of an average video game player.